Today’s column
UPDATE: Whoops! Apparently some of my edits were not saved when I posted this. Sorry!
Today’s column is online here. Not having kids myself, I checked with a good friend who has wonderful common sense, and two small boys, before I sent this one in. She agreed with all my advice, and added the following good tips, as well:
1. Once the kid is beyond carrier stage, YOU, i.e., parent, are responsible for keeping him/her entertained. This means not just bringing along books/crayons/cars, etc., but also talking to and engaging the kid. Unless the patrons at the next table are absolutely besotted (and don’t assume most people are – be honest with the situation here) don’t let your kid invade/engage them all night along. Goes double for the waitstaff, whose job is to serve food, not entertain or be delighted by your kid.
2. Brunch is often better with young kids than dinner. Kids are generally at their best earlier in the day and decline as the day winds down, with the “witching hour” starting at 6 until bed time. Also, restaurants are more informal (and cheaper) earlier in the day, and more likely other folks with kids will be there.
3. FYI: one of the best baby gifts we ever got: a $100 gift card to Dining In, so we could order and have restaurant food delivered to us in the first few months. Not as good as going out, but good hot food when you have a newborn is almost as valuable as piles of clean laundry and diapers (and certainly way more valuable than any stuffed animals or bottle warmers).
Makes bit more sense in context (as most things do), doesn’t it?
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7 Responses to “Today’s column”
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Oooo point three gives me great ideas. One of my closest friends is having a baby soon, and is my first close friend to do so, now I feel less at sea about what to give them.
It was much easier for us to dine out at nicer places with our first child when he was an infant than it currently is with a six year old and a two year old – even though they are seasoned travelers with plenty of experience looking at a menu. An infant is easy peasy. A gaggle of kids? Notsomuch. Rather than raise eyebrows at this couple’s eagerness to get back in the game, I applaud them for wanting to incorporate the lucky child into their lifestyle in an appropriate way. My two year old daughter is pretty charming saying to a waiter “I’d wike a wemonade, pwease, and my brover would wike a Spwite.” She does so without apology, right before she orders steak frites (fwites) for herself.
No amount of restaurant training at home is going to prepare them for the busy hustle and bustle of the real experience. If you like to dine out, I say start early and do it often. Bring a bag of appropriate tricks. If they behave badly, get up and LEAVE. Your spouse can pay the check and apologize for any inconvenience.
I’d consider 7PM to be a universal tipping point in restaurant clientele towards people who might have hired babysitters to get away from kids and enjoy a dinner out among adults. If you want to dine out with a baby or kids, time it so that your check is paid and you are OUT by 7PM.
Lastly, the best way to tell if a restaurant is child-friendly is to call and ask if they have high chairs or any menu accommodations for smaller appetites (often the web site will tell you this if the restaurant has one). No high chairs? Save that place for date night. Have high chairs? Great. Take Jr. at 5:30 or 6PM…otherwise, order it to go.
Good advice, and I say this as someone who is generally besotted by other people’s small children.
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I find it interesting that advice for parents so often assumes that there is a two-person parental unit/team.
When someone writes in saying “My wife and I are having a baby,” it does seem the ultimate in tactlessness to suggest that he might be divorced by the time the kid is old enough to go to restaurants.
I should have been more clear Robin that I was referring to all of the advice directed at parents in general, not just by you (your advice in this particular instance was obviously appropriately directed at the parents). I apologize for failing to communicate my full thought. I feel silly for not catching that.
Oh, no worries, S. It’s a good thing for me to be mindful of in general. I try to go ONLY on the information given in the letters, and not make assumptions about, for example, whether a married couple is straight or gay. Keeping in mind that a parent may be single is a good one, too, so thanks for the reminder.